blobygon
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WIP - NPC's (and a few setbacks)
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 19:57:07 +0000 UTCHey all! I have some good news and some bad news.
Bad news: Adding NPC's has been a much bigger challenge than I thought and I probably won't be able to add all of the features I had planned in time for the next build.
Good news: I eventually found a much better way to handle NPC's that will make them a lot more manageable and extendable in the future.
Let me preface by saying I am not a good programmer and I had almost zero programming experience before starting this project. Because of this, I make a lot of mistakes and I often underestimate how complicated certain things will be. Adding NPC's has been no exception.
At first, I tried adding to the really basic script I made to control the hazmat suit guys for Snackrooms V2. It was going well for a while, but it quickly got to the point where every new behavior I added caused tons of other issues. It was difficult to debug and I spent a lot of time rewriting code only to have it blow up in my face over and over.
Eventually, I decided to explore other options and I bought a very useful plugin called Behavior Designer to help make the task more manageable. This tool breaks behaviors down into bite-sized chunks of logic that hook together in a visual way called a behavior tree. Here's an example of one in action.
Behavior trees make it much easier to see what's going on inside the brain of an NPC while they are thinking. Their decisions are based on a visual hierarchy where certain behaviors override others depending on the situation and the order of their arrangement.
It took some effort to rebuild what I already had using this new system, but it's definitely been worth it. I still have to write some code, but overall these visual graphs make things way less overwhelming and it will allow me to add new behaviors much more easily in the future.
Blah, blah, blah technical nonsense... so what can you expect to see in the next build?
Right now I'm focusing on a basic dialogue system and some simple behaviors. NPC's will say different things based on your weight and their behavior will change to some extent as you grow. I plan to add NPC's to at least the Buffet and Candy Factory with more to come in future updates. I want each NPC to have a distinct appearance, unique dialogues and somewhat different behaviors so they all feel like they have their own personality. That said, it will take some time to populate all the locations in the game.
I've also been trying to rework the rolling body so it won't pancake at lower frame rates. In addition, I want the squishiness of the rolling body to be more consistent across all PC's. That way the firmness slider can be used more for fine tuning to your desired squishiness instead of compensating for a poorly performing PC. I'm still working on this, but so far it seems like it will work.
Anyway, I hope to have the next build ready in about a week or two. Thanks for your patience as I continue to chip away at this project and I'll see you again soon!
Comments
blobygon
Yeah I want to add a way to do that
Davlinur
Is there a chance that NPCs will feed the character?
Froher-Gast _Off
woul be really awesome if you do
blobygon
I might be able to. I'll have to look into it
Froher-Gast _Off
would it be possible to add breakable furniture and if you gain to much weight to crack walls or floors maybe?
Hiccupybelly3
One day it would be cool if the npcs were able to get on top of the players belly and the player can get hiccups or burps or farts
blobygon
I dont think itll make it into the next build but I want to add this
toastah .
Don't know how viable it would be, but I think it would be great if npcs could be flattened by rolling blobs over them, there already seems to be that kind of pancaked smushed look when rolling body firmness is turned all the way to the minimum
blobygon
For a limited time only
GhastlyGluttons
NPC Snacks !
blobygon
No NPC weight gain yet but I plan to add it down the road
empreur draaah
These two types of interactions could be very interesting.
DinoPon3
Lead free borgs? D:
Sprectra
That whole behavior tree set up is really interesting to look through. I'm impressed with the work you're putting in and I'm looking forward to seeing how the NPCs are going to fit in with the next update in any form
PotatoLover1999
Or if you can feed the NPCs~
Geoffrey
can't wait to see if npcs ever get to feeding the player :3
mcknealie
Sorry to hear about the hurdles, but so far this all sounds like good news! Canโt wait for the next build
smugdotjpg
Wow really amazing stuff in such a short time! Just question the NPC at this time cannot gain weight and will just comment on your own weight? But this has been awesome so far really looking forwards to the next release!
CobaltReverie
Oh no I meant it metaphorically, just having npcs reacting and interacting with a cute player character is the dream ๐ฅน
blobygon
Yeah I wont be giving them a huge amount of depth. I basically want a few main personality types like you mentioned with a handful of small phrases depending on your weight. I want to make these easy to add onto over time so I don't get bogged down trying to flesh out a whole population at once. Thanks for your concern though. It's easy to get caught up with big ambitious ideas in the planning phase. Then reality sets in and limitations arise. I'm trying to pace myself and not get discouraged when things don't work out as smoothly as I imagined.
empreur draaah
Well work :D
blobygon
That's cool to hear. Having some programming knowledge from the start will surely help. I wish you luck!
blobygon
Flattening might not make it into the next update but I want to add it soon either way.
Gundabad PUG
I got to say bloby this is amazing that you are even making this project it is soo hard to find nice meterial and this is one of the best i have found thank you
Hiccupybelly3
Lucky nps. They get to encounter a sexy hiccuping and gassy rolly poly
Osinacana
Yes! This! Lol the fact that they're running only makes me want to flatten them more.
LordOfMeaty
I'm impressed that you're even able to get NPC's out this quickly, though I will say after you mentioned about giving them 'unique personalities'. Don't go overboard and burn yourself out by trying to give every single NPC it's own unique thing, I'd be fine with just 5 main personalities when NPC's are fully done. Something like: a grossed out personality, a bully personality, a gainer personality, a feedee personality and just a general shock personality. Regardless don't push yourself too far, take your time with the game and enjoy the process of making it rather than shoving everything into it all at once. Will say though it would be nice to have the sfx for the clothes ripping to be added into the update but I fully understand if that needs to be help back if NPC's are too much on your plate Regardless man, hope you take care of yourself and take your time developing this!
The57thPatreon
Dude, the fact you managed to make all this with almost zero programming knowledge is an achievement in itself! And you're still getting better and learning as you go. I look forward to seeing you progress! (I know little programming myself and I'm considering making my own project to learn game programming.)
SkeleSoda
Looking forward to this update, also opens up possibilities of fattening npcs as well but that's in the long run, keep up the amazing work!
Nightshade010101
I am very much interested in all of the technical details of your development. Please do keep including them.
CobaltReverie
itโs fascinating hearing your progression in programming and game development, excited to have npcs to Flatten
